Audio Features Affected by Music Expressiveness

Within a Music Information Retrieval perspective, the goal of the study presented here is to investigate the impact on sound features of the musician's affective intention, namely when trying to intentionally convey emotional contents via expressiveness. A preliminary experiment has been performed involving $10$ tuba players. The recordings have been analysed by extracting a variety of features, which have been subsequently evaluated by combining both classic and machine learning statistical techniques. Results are reported and discussed.Comment: Submitted to ACM SIGIR Conference on Research and Development in Information Retrieval (SIGIR 2016), Pisa, Italy, July 17-21, 201

About the use of entanglement in the optical implementation of quantum information processing

We review some applications of entanglement to improve quantum measurements and communication, with the main focus on the optical implementation of quantum information processing. The evolution of continuos variable entangled states in active optical fibers is also analyzed.Comment: 8pages, invited contribution to Quant. Interf. IV (ICTP Trieste 2002

A randomized, placebo-controlled trial assessing the effect of VISBIOME ES probiotic in people with HIV on antiretroviral therapy

Background: A5350, a phase II, randomized, double-blind study, evaluated the safety and tolerability of the probiotic Visbiome Extra Strength (ES) over 24 weeks and measured effects on inflammation and intestinal barrier function. Methods: The primary outcome was change in soluble CD14 (sCD14) levels; secondary outcomes included safety and tolerability, markers of inflammation and cellular activation, and microbiome. In a substudy, gut permeability was assessed by paired colonic biopsies measuring the area of lamina propria occupied by CD4+ cells, interleukin (IL)-17+ cells, and myeloperoxidase (MPO). Changes between arms were compared with the 2-sample Results: Overall, 93 participants enrolled: 86% male, median age 51 years, median CD4 count 712 cells/mm3. Visbiome ES was safe and well tolerated. There was no difference in mean change in sCD14 from baseline to week 25/26 between placebo (mean change, 92.3 µg/L; 95% CI, -48.5 to 233 µg/L) and Visbiome ES (mean change, 41.0 µg/L; 95% CI, -94.1 to 176.2 µg/L; Conclusions: Visbiome ES was safe and altered the microbiome but demonstrated no effect on systemic inflammatory markers, pathology, or gut permeability in antiretroviral therapy-treated people with HIV

A quantum measurement of the spin direction

We give a first physical model for the quantum measurement of the spin direction. It is an Arthurs-Kelly model that involves a kind of magnetic-dipole interaction of the spin with three modes of radiation. We show that in a limit of infinite squeezing of radiation the optimal POVM for the measurement of the spin direction is achieved for spin 1/2

An “Unexpected” Rock Failure in a Limestone Open Pit Mine

On 28th October 2004 a rock failure occurred in a limestone open pit quarry in Tuscany (Italy). The phenomenon evolved slowly with the collapse of about 1000 cubic meters. The complex failure mechanism mainly involved plane sliding along stratifications with rotation and block toppling. The phenomenon continued to evolve slowly and on 3rd November failure extended to the neighbouring portion of rock with a total collapse of about 5000 cubic meters of rock. Failure analysis took advantage of an accurate characterization of geology, geometry and mechanical properties of the collapsed rock mass. Such analysis led to the conclusion that the failure has been caused by the concurrence of various factors, namely: - unfavourable dip and dip directions of stratification which daylight in the slope face; - possible reduction of the angle of shear resistance available along stratification especially as a consequence of intense rainfall and vibrations

3D FEM and DEM Analyses of Underground Openings in Competent Rock Masses

The paper is aimed at comparing the results of numerical analyses of underground openings in competent rock masses like the Carrara Marble (Italy) by considering a real and well documented case study. More specifically, 3D FEM and DEM analyses were carried out on a rock-mass model interested by two faults and three sets of discontinuities. The geometrical model is representative of deep underground openings where spalling-cracks and rock bursts can occur. PLAXIS 3D and 3DEC were used for the analyses. Intact rock and rock mass characterization of Carrara Marble was inferred from available technical literature. The analysis results were compared in terms of principal stresses and displacements in a number of monitoring points around the opening. The main practical interest is to find out a reliable approach for evaluating the stability of very large openings in a competent rock mass like Carrara marble. For such a purpose, a number of available in-situ stress measurements were used